Of Friends and Mischief, Of Romance and Scandal
by Hufflepufflin
Summary: Romance abounds in this tale of 6 or 7 quirky little love stories. Unexplored relationships are narrated with lesser characters and people you've never even heard of. A hearty story chock full of friendship and the ridiculous mischief one certain group of friends can get into, all of which are centered around one person: Autumn Mothertruckin' Shorts.
1. The Beginning of All Beginnings

**A/N:** This is another little series of stories I started writing. Basically, it just involves things that would've happened if me and my friends had gone to Hogwarts and the people we would've ended up with. So this first one is about me and Neville. I know we don't get together, but c'mon, we're just first years! Besides, I find it more fun to play with this relationship in the next stories. SPOILERS: We don't start dating until 6th year ^_^

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter in any way. All credit goes to our queen, Jo :D

"Gryffindor!"

Neville let out the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding as the Sorting Hat was taken off his head. He quickly hopped off the stool and walked to the Gryffindor table. He seated himself next to Hermione, who flashed him a quick smile before turning her attention back to the Sorting.

Eruptions of cheer and applause rang out as each new student was sorted into a house. However, the room had never been as loud as the moment Harry Potter became a Gryffindor.

The cluster of students grew smaller and smaller as each house gained new members. Neville had sorted of drifted off into La-La Land when Professor McGonagall called out "Autumn Shorts!" Neville snapped back to attention and studied this girl.

She was short, and had a slight bounce in her step. Her brown, curly mop of hair could rival Hermione's. She wore glasses and huge blue-gray eyes. But it was her smile that captured Neville's heart. It was bright and confident, and it lit up the room.

She sat down upon the stool, and the Sorting Hat was placed upon her head. It hesitated and seemed unable to call out a house. The room grew silent, anticipating a Hat Stall. A Hat Stall rarely happened, so it was always an eager event. What house would this girl be put in? Gryffindor? Slytherin? Perhaps Ravenclaw?

Finally the Sorting Hat seemed to make up its mind.

"Hufflepuff!"

It was strange, but Neville was somewhat disappointed that this Autumn hadn't been put in Gryffindor.

I had almost forgotten about Autumn, but she was always at the back of my mind. I didn't get a chance to talk with her until the first Herbology lesson of the year.

I trailed into the greenhouse behind some of the other Gryffindors. There she was, surrounded by students, in the middle of telling a very animated story. I walked over and listened to her hilarious tale about some muggles she had met. Even Professor Sprout was immersed in her story.

When she finished, Professor Sprout called for us to split into partners for the first lesson. I sighed, and walked over to a table, figuring someone would join me when they realized I was alone. However, to my surprise, I was joined almost immediately.

I turned to see who my partner was and was quite shocked to see Autumn standing by my side. She beamed at me, and I swear my heart skipped a beat.

"Hi," she said, sticking out her hand. "I'm Autumn Shorts."

"Neville Longbottom," I replied, shaking her hand, surprised I had so much control over my body. "Nice to make your acquaintance."

"Acquaintance… What a stiff term. How about friends instead?"

I nodded, smiling weakly. That's when she pounced and gave me a great big bear hug. It took all I had not to melt into her arms.

That's when Professor Sprout dropped the bomb: we would be partners with whoever we chose for the rest of the year.

I groaned inwardly and put my head in my hands. How could I focus on class with Autumn next to me the entire time?

Somehow, I managed to get the day's work done. I also learned that Autumn had the rest of the day free until dinner, as did I. We walked out by the lake and sat down under a tree.

"Let's play Truth or Dare!" she squealed, rolling onto her back and giving me the most pitiful look. I had to agree.

"Okay! I'll start! So Mr. Gryffindor, truth or dare?" she asked, grinning at me mischievously.

"Uh…truth," I answered, not feeling particularly brave looking into those eyes. I shifted my gaze to stare across the lake.

"What class are you looking forward to the most this year?"

"Definitely Herbology."

"Me too!" she replied, grinning at me. I smiled back, thinking _You and every other Hufflepuff._

"So, truth or dare?" I asked.

"Dare!"

"Hmm…," I muttered, trying to think of a good dare. Then I noticed Draco Malfoy and his goons, Crabbe and Goyle, walking toward us. I cringed at the sight of him, knowing he would only insult us. Suddenly, I had a flash of inspiration. I leaned over and whispered her dare to her. She grinned at me, and pushed herself up.

I watched her run up to the trio. I could hear her introduce herself to them, and laughed at the look of utter confusion on his face. Finally, she got to the actual dare.

Throwing her arms around him, she planted a kiss right on Malfoy's cheek. I grinned, watching the wide array of emotions pass across his face. I named them all in my head, but there was one I couldn't quite place. It flashed across his face before contorting into anger.

"Get off me, you filthy mudblood!" he screamed, pushing her away from him. She landed on the ground with a thud and sat there, bewildered.

Before I knew what I was doing, I had crossed to them and grabbed Draco by the collar.

"Don't you ever call her that again," I stated, glowering at him. "Just leave us alone." I let go of him, and he fell to the floor.

I walked over to Autumn and helped her to stand. Grabbing her hand, I muttered a "Let's go" and started walking back to the castle.

When we were almost out of earshot, Malfoy yelled to us.

"Yeah, that's right! Walk away, and take your stupid girlfriend with you!"

We walked in silence. When we reached the castle, Autumn stopped me.

"Neville?" she asked timidly. "What's a, uh, mudblood?"

"It's a term used to insult wizards and witches who were born to muggles," I explained, somewhat embarrassed by my outburst.

"Well, that is what I am. My parents were muggles, so I'm a mudblood," she answered cheerily.

I sighed, slightly amused that she didn't understand. "No, it's not like that. And don't call yourself a mudblood."

She looked at me, amusement glittering in her eyes. "Well, thanks for sticking up for me then. It was sweet. But enough about that. You like Herbology right? Then you have to see this," she said, grinning mischievously. She grabbed my hand and started pulling me through the castle.

I couldn't believe it. Here I was, holding the hand of a girl I had the hugest crush on, even though we had just officially met a few hours ago, being pulled to some random location in the castle. Not to mention, I WAS HOLDING THE HAND OF A GIRL I HAD THE HUGEST CRUSH ON. I was so struck by the amazement of this that it took me a few seconds to realize we had stopped.

We were standing at a dead end, with a bunch of barrels pushed up against the wall.

"Um, Autumn, are you sure you know where you're going?" I asked.

"Of course I do silly! I am a master of navigation! But, I'm gonna need you to turn around and cover your ears. This is top secret, naturally," she answered back.

"Naturally," I muttered, turning around and covering my ears. I still thought that Autumn had gotten us lost, but I decided to play along so she wouldn't feel bad.

Next thing I knew, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I took this as my queue that I could turn around. When I did, I was shocked by what I saw.

The barrels were gone and instead there was an earthy tunnel with torches adorning the walls. And there stood Autumn, grinning proudly at my shocked face.

"What? I don't-. How did you-? And the barrels-. What?" I stuttered, unable to manage full sentences.

Autumn laughed and walked up to me. She shut my mouth, which I hadn't realized had been hanging open. "Stop gawking Neville and let's go!" She squealed, skipping down the tunnel. I quickly followed.

The tunnel wasn't very long and soon opened into a dimly lit room. The walls were made of dirt. The room had a few squishy-looking arm chairs placed sporadically throughout the room. Near the ceiling were a few windows, where you could see the grass from the castle grounds. But, the plants! Oh the plants were everywhere! There was gillyweed, mandrakes, and mimbulus mimbletonia! I even spotted some devil's snare hanging in pots from the roof.

"This place is…magnificent," I breathed, taking in all the plants.

"Hey everyone! The lion likes the badger's nest! Come on out and meet Neville!" Autumn called out.

Out of nowhere, students walked into the room, smiling at Autumn and casting confused glances at me. After saying hi to a few of them, Autumn turned toward me.

"Neville, welcome to the Hufflepuff common room."

**A/N: **Aaaaand that's how I'm gonna end it. There's really nothing else to put in this :3 Basically, anything else that would happen this year is that me and Neville become really close and I'm too lazy to write about that. Next up will occur in second year with my dear friend Gryffindorable (who is a really great writer with her Harry Potter awesomeness so go check her out) and a boy who is not to be named cause she doesn't know, so it's better if I keep it a secret ;)


	2. Tessa's Particularly Good Finder

**A/N**: Hahahaha! I posted it Tessa! You thought it would be a while! Mwahahahahahaha!

I sighed, picking listlessly at a piece of fuzz on my robe. I don't know why I was even here. I don't care about the Hufflepuff quidditch team, except Autumn and maybe…

Nope, I'm not about to go there. The only reason I was here was because Autumn had asked me to come and that's it. I had absolutely no ulterior motive to creeping on the practices, and that non-existent ulterior motive certainly wasn't to watch a certain Hufflepuff player.

Shaking my head to clear my thoughts, I brought my attention back to the flying Hufflepuffs in front of me. Autumn was just sitting on her broom, above the others, cheerfully whistling. Suddenly, I saw her dive down, weaving between her teammates. Then she was pulling out of the dive, the golden snitch clutched tightly in her hand.

Now, Autumn doesn't always play Seeker, but every now and then the captain, and official Seeker, lets her play a game. She's only the reserve, but man was she good! She'd already won a game against Slytherin, even with their fancy new brooms.

The Hufflepuff team landed lightly on the ground and began trailing off toward the locker rooms. Everyone except Autumn, that is. She came running up to me, grinning goofily.

"Did you see that Tessa? I just beat my own best time!" she squealed excitedly, bouncing up and down.

I smiled at the excited girl in front of me. "Of course I did. Why do you think I came? To stare at Cedric all day? Good job, Autumn."

She beamed at me before jumping forward and encasing me in a hug. "Thank you, Tessa! Oh, guess what? Cedric said I could play in the next match against Ravenclaw! Since I've been doing so well in practice and all," she squealed again, resuming her bouncing.

I just laughed and pressed my hand down onto her shoulder, attempting to stop the bouncing. "Calm down, Autumn. And if you're doing so well, how come he doesn't let you play in the very next match, the one against Gryffindor?"

"Harry," we both chimed at the same time, before bursting into giggles. Harry was the Seeker prodigy of Gryffindor, practically undefeated. Cedric was smart, but way too proud to recognize that Hufflepuff might stand a fighting chance if he would just let Autumn play.

As if reading my mind, Autumn just sighs. "Cedric's the captain. He knows what's best."

"Obviously not! If he did, he'd let you play against Gryffindor (not that I want you guys to win or anything)! You only won that Slytherin game in 10 minutes!"

Autumn smirked a little. "I sure hope Draco's not mad at me about that. I sure would hate to have upset him."

"Yeah, I still don't understand how that friendship happened. Didn't he, like, push you down and call you a mudblood last year?"

"And then Neville went all angry-protective on him," she replied, her eyes hazing over she thought of her 'special' Gryffindor friend.

I chuckled a little at her dreamy gaze. Everyone who knew Autumn knew she had a crush on Neville, which of course meant everyone but Neville. I mean, seriously, I think Dumbledore himself knew. And although I'd never ask him, I was convinced the feeling was mutual. However, both were way too dense to realize the mutual attraction and do something about it. With a small sigh, I snapped my fingers in front of Autumn's face to get her attention again.

She quickly shook her head, and merely continued on. "Anyway, I talked to him again later that week during Charms, and he apologized about what happened. Then we got to talking and now we're friends!"

"And how did you get him alone? Cause I highly doubt any Slytherin would apologize publically, especially the prestigious Draco Malfoy," I questioned, stating that last bit in a mocking tone.

"Well, Professor Flitwick said to pick a partner, so I claimed him before anyone else could," she answered, an innocent look on her face.

"Of course you did Autumn," I said, laughing as I tried to imagine how that scene played out. I could just see her plopping onto Draco's lap, yelling "Mine!" and hissing at anyone who dared to approach. And of course, Draco just sat there, terrified of the overly-friendly Hufflepuff.

That's when the rest of the Hufflepuff quidditch team walked back onto the pitch.

"Oi, Autumn, you plan on changing out of your practice robes? Or were you just gonna wear around all day?" one of the Chasers called teasingly.

Autumn looked down, seemingly surprised to find herself still in her quidditch clothing. "Whoops!" she laughed, before running off to the locker room.

I couldn't help but laugh again. "I'll see you in the library later!" I called to her retreating form. She gave me a thumbs-up, indicating she had heard me, before disappearing.

I began to pack up my things so I could retreat to the common room before the study group with all my friends in the library tonight.

"What's up pussy-cat? Spying on our quidditch practices again, I see," an irritatingly playful voice said behind me.

With a sigh, I finished gathering my items, and then turned to confront Cedric, the only other person I knew on the team.

"You know as well as I do that I only come out here every week because Autumn asks me to. And you also know that I hate when you call me that," I replied, slightly annoyed. To call me and Cedric friends was a bit of a stretch. In fact, it was a lot of a stretch. We were merely acquaintances pushed together by circumstance. That circumstance being that Autumn always wanted me to come to her practices.

"And here I thought you just liked to see me," he responded, smirking slightly.

"In your dreams, Diggory," I answered, rolling my eyes.

"Oh, trust me Geelhood. You like a lot more than just seeing me in my dreams," he retorted, winking at me before walking back to the rest of his team.

I blushed furiously before stomping off the pitch. I made sure to push past Cedric roughly, muttering "Idiot", as I made my way by.

I was still fuming by the time I was supposed to start heading for the library for study group with my inter-house friends. Actually, we never even studied at these meetings. We used to last year, but it quickly became more of a social hour. It's now where we catch each other all up on what's been going on. I, for one, already knew exactly what story I had to tell.

Normally, I walked with Baylie, but by the time she was ready to leave, I wasn't feeling up to it at the moment. I waved her on and said I'd be down shortly. After collecting my thoughts, I began my own trek down to the library. Needless to say, I was the last one to arrive.

By the time I got to our usual table, Autumn was in the middle of telling everyone about her practice that afternoon. I took a seat, and a few of my friends turned and smiled at me before turning their attention back to Autumn's animated tale. I pretty much zoned it all out, seeing as how I'd actually witnessed the event.

When she finished, everyone automatically turned to look at me. I must've looked pretty pissed off, because it was quiet for a few seconds. Finally, Bailey hesitantly reached over and placed a hand on my shoulder, asking, "Tessa, are you okay?"

I huffed a little, recalling that afternoon's events. "You guys will not believe what Diggory said to me this time!" At that, the whole group rolled their eyes at me, except Carla and Autumn, who seemed to share a meaningful glance with each other. It passed so quickly though, I wasn't even sure it was really there.

Okay, I guess I can sort of understand my friends' frustration. Every study night (which coincidentally fell on the days of the Hufflepuff quidditch practice), I had a new story about my encounters with the arrogant captain. Actually, most of our guy friends stopped coming because of it. I'm pretty sure the only reason Cory shows up is because Autumn drags him down here.

"Anyway," I began, recounting my newest conversation with the Hufflepuff.

*One recountation later*

"And so when I passed by, I bumped him!" I exclaimed, finishing the story.

"I'm not understanding your anger, Tessa," Cory spoke up, eyeing me quizzically. "It's not like he said anything mean."

"Yeah. If anything, it sounded like he was flirting with you," Carla piped in, looking a little mischievous.

"Why would he possibly flirt with me?" I questioned, some of my anger melting away.

"Maybe he flirts with all the girls," Bailey suggested, shrugging.

We all turned to look at Autumn, the person who knows everything about everybody.

"Nope," she answered, evil glint in her eye and a wicked grin on her face. "He only flirts with girls he likes."

"He must have changed then," I retorted bluntly, crossing my arms.

"You know Tessa, I don't think you're as opposed to the idea as you're trying to come off as," Carla said, mimicking Autumn's expression.

"What are you talking about? Why would I want the superbly annoying git to flirt with me!?" I flung back, bristling.

"Ooo, someone's getting defensive. I think she likes him," Autumn said to the group in a teasing manner.

I slammed my palms onto the table, standing up. This effectively shut everyone up. "No," I stated darkly, before quickly turning and striding out of the library.

I set a quick pace back to the common room. I was almost there. I just needed to turn this corner and I'd see the stairs. I practically raced around it, so eager to get back to the comfort of my bed. The next thing I knew, I was sitting on the ground, watching snitches fly around my head.

I shook my head, shooing the snitches away. When I could finally see straight, a hand was stretched out toward me. Without looking to see who the hand belonged to, I grabbed on and let myself get pulled up.

I looked up to thank the stranger.

Until I found myself staring into the beau-, I mean, _grey_ eyes of Cedric Diggory. He grinned down at me, speaking in that annoyingly playful tone of his. "Hey there, pussy-cat. Didn't realize that you were so eager to see me, you had to run into me."

His nickname for me shook me of my temporary paralysis, and I yanked my hand out of his. "Jerk. You ran into me. What are you even doing here?" I hissed, glaring.

He held up his hands as if to defend himself from any attacks. "No need to be hostile, Geelhood. I get it, you don't like being called pussy-cat."

"You didn't answer my question."

"I was escorting a couple of lost first years to the Gryffindor common room. Being a prefect and all," he replied a little smugly, flashing his prefect pin at me.

I just rolled my eyes, scoffing. "What a freakin' saint," I muttered sarcastically, loud enough for him to hear. "Someone give him a Godric-damned medal."

Cedric reached out, putting a hand on my shoulder. "Hey, Geelhood, is something wrong? This isn't like you," he asked, worry dripping in his voice.

"What's wrong is you!" I snarled, swatting his hand away. "Just leave me alone!" And with that, I pushed past him and headed to the portrait of the Fat Lady. I gave her the password and the frame swung open. Before heading in, I took one last look at the badger, which would turn out to be a mistake.

He had turned to watch me go, his face full of hurt. It was the last thing I saw before the portrait swung close on me.

The next morning at breakfast, I was still disgruntled. Everyone seemed to sense my foul mood and pretty much isolated me at the table. Even Baylie.

I sighed, stabbing my fork into the pancakes in front of me. I wasn't really angry at Cedric. I was just feeling pretty guilty. I shouldn't have looked back at him. That's the reason. That look on his face. At least, that's what I told myself, though I knew it wasn't true. I stabbed the fork even more viciously into my pancakes, trying to get all of my frustrations out.

A hand on my shoulder caused me to jump. I turned around, glaring at whoever dared disturb me, only to find myself looking at an extremely pleased Autumn.

"Goooood morning," she chirped, sitting down next to me.

"Morning," I replied, purely out of proper etiquette than the need to socialize.

She took on a concerned look. "Hey, is everything okay? You left in such a huff last night."

"Everything's fine," I answered coldly. She raised an eyebrow at me. I sighed, giving in. "Only…" She took on that worried expression again. "Augh! I'm just feeling so guilty over how I snapped at Cedric last night!" I exclaimed (not loud enough for anyone else to hear, of course), throwing my head into my hands.

"You ran into Cedric last night?" she repeated, asking for more info in her own way. She reached over, swiping the strawberry off my destroyed pancakes, quickly popping it into her mouth.

I opened my mouth to begin explaining, but before I could, Autumn started hacking. She finished coughing down her strawberry and looked at me with wide eyes.

"Y-you called him Cedric," she said, looking surprised.

"Yeah, so?"

"You never call him Cedric! He's always Diggory when you talk about him!"

I blinked in surprise. It hadn't even registered that I hadn't called him Diggory.

"Wow, this guilt must be messing with your mind. Alright, tell Dr. Autumn what happened," she said, putting her arms on the table and resting her chin on them.

I explained what had occurred last night outside of the Gryffindor common room, Autumn listening intently and nodding every so often.

"I didn't really mean what I said. He just found me when I was already a little peeved."

As if on cue, Peeves flew by, throwing muffins. We both automatically ducked, successfully dodging them, but a poor first year got a muffin to the face.

"Well," Autumn began cheerily, plucking the muffin out of the confused first year's hands, "I'll talk to him for you, okay? He'll understand."

I smiled gratefully. "Thanks."

Autumn did a little half-salute and walked back to her table, biting happily into her muffin.

I didn't see her again until later that afternoon, when we both had Herbology. She ran up to me, super excited, and plopped into the seat next to mine.

"Tessa! You will never believe what I just got asked Tessa! Never ever!" she exclaimed, breathless. She looked like she had ran the whole way to the greenhouses.

"What? Wait, no, what about Diggory?" I asked, curious about her out-burst, but still wanting to make sure she had explained everything to Cedric.

"Yeah, yeah, he's fine," she answered off-handedly, brushing my question away. "In fact, he's more than fine. I told you, he's an understanding guy. Anyway, that's not important right now."

Before I could ask what she meant, Baylie came over, confused.

"What is this? I go off for five seconds and Autumn takes my freakin' seat!" she exclaimed.

Autumn just calmly turned to her, saying, "Go be partners with Neville today. Tell him I'm sorry while you're over there."

Baylie looked like she was gonna argue, but she must've seen something on Autumn's face, as she went and sat by Neville. Professor Sprout then came up to us, clearing her throat.

"Hello Professor Sprout. I know you're probably wondering why I'm sitting next to Tessa and not my partner, Neville. Well, you see, the way I figured it is that Neville and I are some of your best students. I thought it unfair that the two best herbologists in this class worked together. So I wanted to suggest that we spread the genius a little by splitting up and helping others. Especially since we'll be dealing with mandrakes today," Autumn explained calmly, nodding to the earmuffs in front of her.

"Well," responded Sprout, a little skeptical. But looking at Autumn's innocent puppy-dog face must've swayed her decision. "I guess it'll be fine, for today. We'll see how it works out."

Autumn smiled innocently until Sprout turned and walked away. She then turned back to me and began whispering swiftly under her breath.

"You have a date on Saturday."

"But that's tomorrow," I whispered back, shocked.

"I know."

"With who?"

"Can't say."

"Can't go."

She shot me an incredulous look as she tried to follow Sprout's instructions. "And why not?"

"One, I don't date, and two, I certainly don't blind date."

"Doesn't matter to me."

"And why is that?"

"It's already set up," she responded matter-of-factly.

Sprout gave us a look that basically said 'Shut up or you'll have detention for a month'. We both quieted.

While we were packing up after class was over, Professor Sprout walked over. She cleared her throat and both our heads snapped up.

"Well, Autumn, your little experiment proved to be quite insightful. And I believe separating the two of you was not in the class' best interests," she said sternly. "You spent most of the class talking to Tessa and not paying attention."

Autumn's entire head kinda just drooped, like a poor puppy someone had left in the rain. "Sorry ma'am."

Sprout's face softened a little and she leaned a little closer. Grinning, she whispered conspiratorailly, "Besides, I think Neville was devastated without you. He seemed distracted as well."

I smiled, almost smirking, at that. I'm telling you, everyone but Autumn and Neville knew how they both fancied each other. However, Autumn just blushed and mumbled something incoherently.

I chuckled a little, and then realized the rest of the class had already left. I quickly gathered the rest of my things and walked out of the greenhouse with Autumn.

Neville was waiting outside, watching the ground. His head shot up when we came out, his face full of worry.

"Autumn?" he asked timidly. "Did I do something wrong? Are you mad at me?"

Autumn immediately walked over to him and wrapped into a hug. "No, Neville, of course not. Everything's fine," she said softly.

I smiled at the two. They needed their alone time. I started walking back to the castle by myself. There was some homework I needed to procrastinate on.

I woke up with a start, in complete darkness. I started to relax until I realized I wasn't in my bed. That was also when I realized there was a gag over my mouth and my hands and legs were tied up. I began to struggle against my restraints.

However, I couldn't manage to loosen them even a little. It's like they had been tied with magic or something. As I continued my struggles, a door in front of me cracked open. I heard a gasp and it flew open. The sudden bright light blinded me for a second.

When I was able to see again, Cedric was kneeling by me, hastily loosening the knot around my wrists. As soon as he freed them, I tore the gag off.

He immediately went to work at the ones around my ankles, while I just sat there, completely speechless.

When he finished, he looked up at me. His hand came to my cheek, lightly brushing the faint bruise the gag had left with his thumb. "Tessa, are you okay?" he asked softly.

I nodded slightly, my words still failing me. I could feel my face getting warm, and I just knew I was blushing.

He took his hand away, that spot on my cheek becoming noticeably colder. "Do you know who did this to you?" he asked, still in that gentle tone.

I shook my head. "The last thing I remember is going to bed last night. Then I woke up in here, exactly how you found me," I answered, trying to ignore the butterflies her was giving me. That's when a new thought occurred to me. "How did you find me anyways?"

He looked away sheepishly. "Actually, I was given a paper telling me to go on a scavenger hunt through the castle and that my prize would be at the end. The last clue led to this closet."

I looked at the ground. I was supposed to be Cedric's prize?

Before I could think up a response, Cedric had picked me up, one arm supporting my back, the other underneath my knees. I yelped in surprise.

He looked down at me, smiling. "Don't worry, pussy-cat, I won't drop you. Besides, cats always land on their feet, right?"

"I can walk you know," I said, a tad bit annoyed.

"I know. I just want to make sure you get wherever you need to go safely. Besides, aren't I comfortable enough for you?" he asked, winking.

There was that damn blush again. I decided to just not answer. Instead, I adjusted myself so I felt more comfortable. However, this just ended up with my head resting on his chest.

He glanced down at me, grinning. But then his grin faded into a frown as he took on a thoughtful expression.

"What is it?" I asked, confused.

He looked down again, biting his lip, and gave a slightly forced chuckle. "Well, I guess this, uh, put a damper on our little date today."

"What!?" I shouted. I must've really surprised him, because he nearly dropped me.

Once he had a firm grip on me again, he gave me a funny look. "You know, our date. Didn't Autumn tell you about it? I mean, she seemed pretty excited when I mentioned it…"

"Not exactly," I muttered, thinking about her little 'blind date' she had set me up on. "Well, speak of the devil," I said, as Autumn was coming down the hallway at that moment.

She was skipping merrily, but when she saw us, she squealed and ran over to us, grinning like an idiot. "My OTP is canon!" she squealed, jumping up and down, clapping happily.

We both gave her a weird look. What did she mean by OTP?

"What do you mean by 'OTP'? I'm afraid this is an acronym not currently in my vocabulary," Cedric questioned, tilting his head cutely- I mean, tilting his head, that's it.

"OTP stands for 'one true pairing', silly," she answered, giggling. "I mean, just look at you two," she giggled out, gesturing to our position.

This made us both blush, and Cedric hurriedly, but gently, put me back on the ground.

"Uh, not yet Autumn. I don't think Geelhood here is up for a date today. She was kidnapped and locked in a closet. Then they sent me on a scavenger hunt to find her," Cedric explained.

To both our surprises, she just started laughing!

"I already knew that, sillies! Who do you think set this whole scheme up? I knew Cedric would be able to find you. Hufflepuffs are particularly good finders," she responded, still laughing. "Don't worry Cedric, Tessa will be plenty fine to go your date today. She just needed a little encouragement."

"You!" I exclaimed, pointing an accusatory finger at her. "You tied me up, gagged me, and threw me in a closet and sent him to find me!? How could you!?"

Autumn backed up a little, hands in the air. "Hey now, it wasn't just me. I did have some inside help. Carla came up with the idea, and I ironed out the wrinkles in the plan. Baylie K opened the door for us, Carla helped me get you into the closet, and Bailey S handed Cedric the first clue."

I'd heard enough by then. Who did she think she was, throwing together this elaborate plot just to get me to go on a stupid date with a stupid boy! I reached for my wand, ready to hex her. However, my hand fell on empty air. I looked down at my pocket, confused.

"Is this what you're looking for?" Autumn asked, twirling my wand in her hand. "Tsk tsk Tessa. You really think I'd capture you and not take your wand? What kind of fool do you take me for?"

I just paused and then just smirked. "Alright, who reminded you?"

She grinned. "Carla."

I shook my head, smiling. "Remind me to kill her later."

Cedric smiled, being sort of an awkward third wheel, and gave a hearty clap. "Well, now that that's settled, are you willing to go on a date with me, Tessa?"

Ah, heck, who am I trying to kid. I only find him extremely attractive. What have I got to lose? "Sure, why not?"

"And that kids, is how I started dating your late Uncle Cedric."

Lacey gaped at me. "Mom! I thought this was the story of how you met dad!"

I laughed. "Kids, it's a long story."

Eric and Lacey groaned, falling back in the couch as I began the next installment of How I Met Your Father.


	3. Bailey Kinda Has A Stalker

I peeked over the top of my book, staring at the beautiful girl only a table away from me. She paid me no attention, as she hadn't the entire time we'd both been there.

I began to get lost in my own daydreams when I noticed her glancing up. I quickly ducked back behind the book, cheeks blushing scarlet. What if she had seen me? My entire cover would be blown!

I heard footsteps, coming closer and closer to me. I hunched into my seat further, trying to make myself so small I'd disappear. The footsteps stopped directly in front of me.

Frightened, I looked up until my eyes met blue bespectacled ones. Wait, blue? But she has brown eyes, doesn't she?

I examined the rest of the person before me, completely relieved to find that it was just Autumn. I let out a breath of relief, relaxing the tight grip on my book.

Autumn giggled. "Hey, Justin. Whatcha doin'?" she asked in a playful voice.

I gulped, trying to control my blush. "Just, ah, reading, ehehe," I answered, awkwardly laughing as I held up my book.

She glanced at the cover, smiling knowingly. "_How It's Made: The Knut_, huh? Sounds riveting."

Stunned, my blush came back again full-force. "Uh, yeah, it's a, uh, really interesting process…"

She nodded, seeing straight through my weak lie. "Oh, I'm sure it is. So, when exactly were you going to realize that your group left? I mean, I can't believe you wanted to be here all alone, especially with a murderous dog like Sirius Black on the loose. Pretty risky, if you ask me."

I gulped again. This wasn't working. Maybe it was time to go on the offensive? Defiantly, I replied with, "Yeah, well, you're not exactly with all your friends either."

A wicked glint came to her eyes as she grinned down at me. "I don't need a group. I've got Bailey," she shot back, gesturing to the angel at the other table.

"I don't…," I muttered slightly under my breath, mildly disappointed. Autumn gave me a weird look, indicating she hadn't quite heard me. She opened her mouth as if she was going to say something, but I quickly stood, talking before she could get the chance to. "Anyways, you're right. I should probably get going, seeing as how it's so late and all."

I started shoving things into my bag, wanting to get out of there as soon as possible. Autumn looked a little disappointed and walked back to her own table.

I was almost at the doors when I heard her call "Wait". I stopped dead in my tracks and glanced back. Autumn was skipping toward me, Bailey in tow behind her.

"I was thinking that maybe you could help me walk Bailey back to Ravenclaw Tower, and then we could go to the common room together. That way, no one has to walk alone," she announced, grinning.

I fidgeted a little. I mean, sure, I hate walking by myself, especially at night, and especially since Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban, but could I really survive this walk with Bailey?! What was I gonna say? I'd never even talked to her before! I gulped, opening my mouth to somehow answer, when Bailey cut in.

"This really isn't necessary. I can walk to the Ravenclaw Tower by myself. I'll be fine," Bailey sighed, obviously just wanting to leave.

"Now, now, I won't have anyone walking around by themselves if I can help it," Autumn admonished, arms akimbo. Then she turned back to me. "C'mon, Justin. You know you want to," she sang, smirking slightly.

I hesitated again. Before I could really think it through though, I found myself nodding and saying, "Okay."

Autumn squealed with excitement. "Alright, Ravenclaws in the middle!" she trilled, pushing Bailey in between us. "And we must all hold hands for protection!" she announced as she grabbed Bailey's hand.

Bailey's right hand, and my left, both hung there awkwardly. Do I go for it? Do I let Bailey take the initiative? Do we even bother listen to the zany Hufflepuff?

Autumn put her free hand on her hip. "Y'know guys, holding hands takes some effort. Hop to it!"

Bailey whispered something to Autumn, quiet enough so I couldn't hear. Autumn gasped as if she had been betrayed and whispered furiously back. Bailey groaned and said something, gesturing between the two of us. Autumn began pacing over to me, raising the volume of her voice once more.

"No, Bailey, Ravenclaws have to be in the middle because they're the smart ones. And smart people need the middle. That way, the un-smart ones can protect them," she finished, holding up her wand.

"Autumn, you're right-handed. Your right hand is currently holding my left," Bailey pointed out, almost triumphantly.

Autumn waved it off like it was no big deal however. "Never you mind that. I'll be fine," she responded off-handedly. Suddenly, she pounced, dropping Bailey's left hand, and grabbing the two that dangled between us. She forced our hands together and muttered "Magnes Attrahat", keeping them locked and intertwined.

"There, problem solved," she said smugly, smiling down at her handiwork. A small blush began creeping up my face as I realized I was now holding hands with my angel, and I hurriedly looked away.

Bailey practically face-palmed. "Really, Autumn? This is so unnecessary."

Autumn just beamed and took up Bailey's left hand again. "You'll thank me later. To the Ravenclaw Tower!" she yelled, pulling us out of the library.

The journey was pretty uneventful, mainly just Autumn chattering away on whatever random topic came to her mind, with Bailey adding in a comment or two every now and then. I stayed silent the entire time, just appreciating being so close to my angel, holding her hand, hearing her gentle voice and melodic laugh, and watching her soft lips. I gotta say, I couldn't exactly be mad at Autumn for giving me this opportunity.

All too soon we arrived at the entrance to Bailey's common room and it all came crashing down. We would never be in this situation again. With regret hanging heavy in my soul, I moved to pull my hand away from Bailey's. However, I failed to remember that Autumn had bewitched our hands, causing Bailey to stagger a little.

"Whoops! That's my bad!" Autumn said between snickers. "I'll fix you two right up!" She walked over between us, kneeling down to get to eye level with our hands. She examined them, muttering something under her breath as she pointed her hand at them.

Instead of being freed, I felt a strong tug pulling me closer to Bailey. I tried to fight it, but it was impossible. I was forced to take a step toward her just to stay comfortable which in turn just made me even more uncomfortable as I was even closer to my angel.

"Autumn, what did you do?" I blurted out.

She stood up straight again, sheepishly rubbing the back of her head. "Well, I seem to have run into a minor problem…"

Bailey groaned. "What is it?"

"Well, the spell I used to stick you two together, I, uh, kinda made it up. And I haven't exactly figured out the countercurse for it yet. Didn't really think that one through, did I?" she chuckled nervously.

Bailey and I both facepalmed at the time. "What am I supposed to do now?" Bailey asked, removing her hand from her face, annoyance written all over her features. "I can't exactly bring him into the Ravenclaw dorms."

Autumn thought for a moment, chin in hand. Suddenly, her eyes lit up. "Sleepover!" she squealed, beginning to drag us toward the kitchens.

I sat on the edge of the couch, bouncing my leg nervously. Bailey and I sat there awkwardly, hands still stuck together. Whenever one of us tried to move away, we got an uncomfortable feeling that wouldn't go away until we got closer together. Sometimes it allowed us a good foot of space. Other times it forced us to be practically cheek-to-cheek. Strangely, this always seemed to occur whenever Autumn was walking in with various items. She'd always just smile knowingly and wink at us.

It just made an awkward situation even more awkward.

Around 11, Autumn walked up to her dorm, claiming something along the lines of not being able to sleep in the common room. Yeah, right. I've lost count on how many times I've caught that girl passed out on one of the squishy chairs in here.

So, there we were on the couch, hands in the middle. In front of us sat two steaming mugs of cocoa that Autumn had vanished down to the kitchens for. Around us sat an overabundance of pillows and blankets. Where Autumn had nabbed these, I'll probably never know.

"Well, uh, maybe we should be getting to bed as well," I said as the awkward silence became unbearable. Bailey nodded in agreement. I threw a couple pillows and a blanket onto the ground while Bailey set up her own little bed on the couch.

When we were both done, we settled ourselves amongst our beds. I scooted as close to the couch as possible, keeping the uncomfortable feeling at bay.

"Well, night then," I muttered.

"Good night."

Sighing quietly, I shut my eyes. I'm such a stupid coward! I had the perfect opportunity to talk to my angel, and I wasted it because I'm too awkward. Cursing myself, I could feel my mind giving in to the lull of sleep.

The next thing I knew, I was jarred back into reality by a yelp and a thud. I looked around blearily, trying to find the source of the noise. I was shocked to see that Bailey was now on the floor with me. She looked a little shaken, but otherwise she was fine.

"What happened?" I asked, completely bewildered.

"Well, I was laying on the couch, trying to sleep, when you started rolling over! That feeling was coming back so I moved closer to the edge. The next thing I know, I'm on the ground!"

"Oh, uh, whoops. I'm kind of a restless sleeper," I chuckled out, awkwardly scratching the back of my neck. I didn't realize I was that strong…

Bailey began eyeing me up and down. Was she checking me out? Should I flex a little? What does one do when they are being checked out? Awkwardly, I flexed my arms a little and smiled, trying to look smug. Is this how you do it?

"I think someone pushed me," she stated matter-of-factly. "No offense, Justin, but you're about as big as my brother, and well, you've met him. There's no way you could've pulled me off."

My arm instantly drooped and my smile faded. Ugh, you idiot! Of course she wasn't checking you out! She would never be interested in you! I can't believe you were stupid enough to think that. This is why you're in Hufflepuff and not one of the more prestigious houses.

I gave a slight laugh, trying to hide any sliver of an idea she might have had about my thoughts. "It's, uh, it's alright. Although, I don't know who could've pushed you. We're the only ones here."

Bailey paused, thinking for a moment, until walking around the couch. Which, of course, meant she dragged me along as well. Behind the couch was…

Nothing. All that was there was air. "I just thought…," Bailey mumbled, frowning a little. With a shrug, she pulled us back to the front side of the couch. As we were walking back, something caught my eye and I looked back. Nothing had changed. I just…it kinda looked like something had moved. Maybe I'm seeing things cause it's so late. "Maybe I was wrong. In that case, I doubt I'll be getting much sleep tonight," she muttered, sitting on the ground and leaning against the couch.

"Sorry about that," I replied, sitting next to her and ducking my head. Goodness, my sleeping habits have made me the biggest jerk in the room. "I guess I won't be sleeping much either, then." She gave me a questioning look. "Well, I can't have you staying up all night by yourself, can I?"

She smiled and we settled ourselves in front of the fireplace. Feeling a little daring, I scooted a few smidges closer to her, closer than we ever sat on the couch if we could help it. We watched the flames crackle for a while, its fiery dance keeping us both mesmerized.

Bailey laughed lightly. "And to think this whole misadventure started because Autumn wanted us to hold hands."

I laughed a little too, squeezing her hand. "Looks like she got what she wanted. It would've been much easier if we had just listened to her in the first place."

"That's Autumn for ya. You don't listen, she makes up a spell that forces you to. Although, they don't always end up as successful as this one," she chuckled, squeezing back. I looked over at her, raising one eyebrow, silently asking what she meant. She shook her head, laughing. "Well, one time, I didn't want to bake her muffins, so she made up a spell. Instead of me baking muffins, I ended up coughing up muffins for a week."

I laughed as well, trying to imagine Bailey like that. As our laughter faded, Bailey went back to watching the fire, a smile faint on her face. Alright Finch-Fletchley, this is your chance. You can do this. You're not the fraidy-cat everyone accused you of being last year. I leaned in, filling the space in between our heads. "I'm glad this one worked," I murmured, quickly kissing her cheek and pulling back.

She touched where my lips had been, looking a little shocked. Crap, that was the wrong move! Too soon, too soon! I began to apologize, but she cut me off. "Me too," she replied simply, smiling again.

I couldn't help it: I was grinning like an idiot. She didn't mind! She really didn't mind! She actually…liked it! Without really thinking about it, I moved my arm around her shoulder, forcing her hand to be there too, but she didn't seem to mind that either. Sighing happily, we both went back to watching the fire.

I was woken by the sound of giggles and "shh"s. A hand was on my shoulder, shaking gently. "Justin. Justin, it's time for breakfast," the voice said quietly, effectively forcing my dream land away, which sucked because I was having the most amazing dream…

My eyes fluttered open, trying to adjust to the harsh light. I lifted my head from the couch, blinking blearily at the happy Autumn in front of me. "Morning, sleepy head," she said in that same quiet tone. I raised my right hand to rub my eyes, getting the sleepiness out. I started to get up, but Autumn quickly stopped me, pointing right next to me. I looked over, confused.

Bailey was still asleep, her body turned to lean against me, head on my shoulder. I smiled, and looked back up, shocked to see that most of my housemates were crowded around the couch, watching us.

"Sorry," Autumn whispered. "They found you before I woke up. Don't worry, I'll get rid of them." She stood up and began shooing everyone away, still quiet enough to not wake Bailey. "Alright guys, show's over. Nothing to see here. Go get some grub. Justin and his new girlfriend need some alone time."

My cheeks reddened at the mention of 'girlfriend'. Finally, everyone was out, a few of them grumbling, except for Autumn. She stood by the exit, happily watching us. I looked at her, silently shooing her off. She jumped, looked around, then pointed at herself. I nodded. She drooped a little, then walked out as well.

Smiling, I kissed the top of Bailey's head. "Hey, it's time to wake up now," I murmured, gently moving her.

"Five more minutes," she groaned, kinda sorta turning away from me.

I chuckled and brushed her hair away from my face and her neck. I kissed her neck, murmuring. "Or, you can get up right now…"

Her eyes flew open, and she turned to back to face me. "Oh, uh, good morning, Justin."

I laughed, unwinding my arm from around her. "Come on, let's go get breakfast," I said, slowly standing and pulling her up with me. She nodded and we made our way down to the Great Hall.

We walked inside, and I was, for once, not feeling awkward about holding Bailey's hand. That was, until, the entirety of the Hufflepuff table turned to stare at us. The giggles and whispers immediately started up again, causing a few from the other houses to look as well.

We all had to duck though, as Peeves began his ritual of muffin-throwing. A few first years ran past us, covering their heads as Peeves pelted them with muffins.

While we were distracted, Cory, Bailey's brother, ran over. "What the hell is this Fletchley?!" he yelled, gesturing at our hands. "I knew you had a girl over last night, but I didn't know it was my sister!"

Bailey looked between us calmly. "Huh, you are bigger than my brother."

Before either of us could respond, Cory was pushed out of the way by two maniacally grinning faces: Tessa and Autumn. Autumn was holding a bunch of muffins and shoved a few into our hands. "No time to eat! We gotta test something in time to go to Hogsmeade!"

I tried to protest but Autumn pushed us out the door. She started eating her muffins and instructed us to do the same. With a resignated calm, we both began to eat ours as well, knowing it's best to not skip breakfast.

When we finally stopped, we were out on the Quidditch pitch. Before us stood two grinning Ravenclaws, Aubree and Carla. Both held a broomstick in their hands. I gulped. This did not look good for either of us.

Autumn grinned at us. "I told Tessa of your predicament, and she came up with this master plan. These two Ravenclaws," Autumn gestured at Carla and Aubree, "agreed, so it's foolproof!" she exclaimed, an almost satanic glint in her eye.

Tessa then stepped forward. "We will place you on separate brooms, then have you fly as fast as possible in opposite directions. This should break the spell, allowing you to hold hands as often, and as not often, as you please," she explained, sharing the same expression as Autumn.

Bailey looked at them skeptically. "Uh, doesn't that seem kind of dangerous?" she tried to back away (dragging me with her), but suddenly, Autumn was behind us, pushing us forward.

"Don't worry you two, it'll be perfectly fine," she soothed. All four girls around us looked frighteningly evil, staring at us with plastered grins and wild eyes.

I clambered onto one of the brooms, which looked suspiciously familiar. It was awkward trying to balance in the air with one hand, but it looked even worse for Bailey. Her broom was an older one, and it rocked side to side. It took all her concentration to not tip over.

Without any warning, Carla slapped the ends of the brooms, causing them to spur forward in opposite directions. As I had already suspected, our hands weren't coming apart. We were just about pulling each other's arms off! And now I was getting that uncomfortable feeling, the one that wanted me to be closer to Bailey.

However, something did start to happen. I looked back and I could see our hands starting to come apart. Is this crazy plan actually going to work?

Right when we were about to be free, I was yanked back, off the broom. Bailey and I both fell about 3 feet, landing on the soft grass.

"Honestly Tessa, did you really think that would work?" Carla asked mockingly, examining her nails.

"Oh shut up! You helped!" Tessa taunted back.

"You're such a towel."

"Well, you're a ginger towel."

"I'm not even a ginger!"

I stood, rubbing my now-sore bum and helped pull Bailey onto her feet. "All that did was make me feel like I've been dragged by three horses," I muttered, Bailey nodded in agreement.

The four girls looked down at the ground, muttering apologies. Autumn looked up, wearing the saddest puppy-dog face. "I sowwy. Will you pwease fogive us?" she murmured.

We tried to resist. No, we really did. But, dang, she just looked so sad! Sighing, I nodded my forgiveness. She squealed out a "Yay!" and pulled us both into a rib-crushing hug.

"Autumn. Can't breath. Release," Bailey wheezed out. With a grin and one last squeeze, Autumn complied. We both began immediately gasping for air.

Tessa looked down at the watch she was conviently wearing. She gasped and looked back at the castle. "We gotta get going! We leave for Hogsmeade in T-Minus 10 minutes! Besides, I sorta swiped Diggory's broom for this and I'd rather not fight today." She hopped onto the broom I'd been riding, zooming off to the broomshed. Aubree got on the other and followed.

Carla wandered up closer to our little trio (Autumn, Bailey and I) and whispered something into Autumn's ear. Autumn's eyes lit up. "That's brilliant! See, this is why I'm not in Ravenclaw!" she exclaimed as she pulled her wand out. "Now, hold still," she muttered as got closer to our hands. "Magnes Repellendos."

Immediately, our hands broke apart and hovered away from each other. I brought my left hand up to my face, flexing and stretching my fingers. Finally, freedom at last! We both cheered, overjoyed to have two functional hands again.

Carla and Autumn were both grinning, seemingly happy for us. "Autumn, you did it!" I cheered, almost hugging her.

Autumn just nodded to Carla. "Technically, she thought it up." Bailey pulled Carla into a hug, thanking her.

"Now, come on lame-o's. We've gotta be at the gates to go to Hogsmeade," Autumn called, leading us away. Bailey and I exchanged small smiles and followed.

We sat in the Three Broomsticks, sipping on butterbeer. Autumn and Carla kept giggling, as they were watching Tessa and Cedric at another table. Tessa seemed to have cuddled up to the Hufflepuff prefect, wrapping her arms around him. She kept cooing things to him, but I was too far away to hear. Cedric found his girlfriend's behavior odd, but didn't seem to mind that much. Bailey gave Autumn a questioning look, and Autumn snickered whilst discreetly pulling something out of her pocket. I couldn't see it, but Bailey seemed to understand because she gave Autumn a reprimanding look. Autumn shrugged sheepishly, grabbed Carla and made a break for it, running back into the small village.

Bailey sighed and leaned back in her seat. I raised my eyebrow in question, but she just shook her head.

"Hey, look at that. We're kinda alone now…," I stated, fidgeting a little. Would it be too soon for me to ask? Maybe I should just go for it… Think like a Gryffindor, Fletchley!

Bailey tilted her head a little. "Hey, Justin, what's up? Something on your mind?"

Before I could second-guess myself, I blurted out, "Will you be my girlfriend?"

To say the least, Bailey was shocked. She blushed a little, before a small smile came to her face. "Okay. Just be wary of Cory from now on," she teased.

I grinned. "I think I can handle your brother." I reached out to take her hand in mine. Yet, when I was almost there, my hand sorta hovered there, refusing to get closer. I frowned, forcing it forward, but to no avail.

Bailey frowned as well. "Just take my hand, Justin."

"Well, I would if I could. There's some weird, like, forcefield around it," I muttered, still trying to grab her hand.

Bailey's frown deepened as her thinking face came on. Suddenly, her eyes lit up and she stood. "Autumn," she uttered before starting to leave.

I quickly chased after her. "Wait, woah, what are you talking about?"

"The spells, Justin. The one she used to free us, specifically. It was simply another botched one," she answered simply as we began to search for the sneaky Hufflepuff. "Here's how I figure it. The first spell that Autumn used translates from Latin to 'Magnet Attracts'. She basically gave our hands opposite charges, causing them to be attracted to each other. Carla's counterspell worked in the opposite direction, as it means 'Magnets Repel'. It made our hands have the same charge so that they would repel each other."

I tried to take that all in, my head spinning. Now she's just talking chemistry to me. "So, what you're saying is…?"

"Our hands need to lose their charges so they'll be neutral again, as they are naturally. Then, we can hold hands if we want to, and not if we don't."

"Merlin's beard, you're a genius! You're like bloody Sherlock Holmes!" I exclaimed, listening to my explanation.

She looked at me, smirking. "Well, I am a Ravenclaw for a reason." I smiled back and we continued our search around Hogsmeade.

We finally found our spell-botching badger in Honeyduke's, buying as many chocolate frogs as she could hold. There was chocolate smeared all around her mouth, as if she'd been stuffing frogs into her mouth for a while.

She finished her purchase, spotted us and ran over, miraculously managing to not drop a single frog. "Hey, you two. Whatcha doin'?"

"We've been looking for you. Look what you did this time!" Bailey answered, trying to grab for my hand. Of course, it didn't work

Autumn's face got really thoughtful, and she popped a frog into her mouth. When she swallowed it, she called Neville over, who instantly was at her side. "Be a dear and hold these for me, please," she said sweetly to him. He readily agreed and she dumped the frogs into his arms. Almost absent-mindedly, she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek, whispering, "Thank you, darling". Neville's cheeks got all red and he smiled dazedly.

Autumn leaned down to examine our hands, occasionally taking them and trying to force them together.

Eventually, she stood straight again, hand to her chin, a thoughtful expression on her face. She took a moment, adjusting her glasses. She pulled a chocolate frog out of Neville's arms and chewed it, mulling over the problem. Finally, she signed resignedly and asked us, "So tell me, which sounds more appealing to you: never holding hands again, or holding them for all eternity?"

Bailey and I both gaped at her. "Wh-what are you talking about?" I spluttered out.

Autumn placed a hand to her temples, as if speaking to a child who just didn't understand. "Those are our only options. You may remain how you are, or I can perform my first spell on you again. I told you, I never figured out the countercurse. So, you're stuck between those two states."

Bailey and I looked at each other, shock written over both our faces. I mean, sure, I really liked Bailey, especially since she's my girlfriend now, but hold hands forever? We'd never have privacy! And on the other hand, never hold hands again? Her hand felt so nice in mine, like they were made for each other…

Neville looked confused, swallowing the frog he must've been eating. "Are you talking about the Magnes spells? But you made all three of those up last year. We still use them to transport plants around the greenhouse.

Bailey turned to Autumn, one hand on her hip. She raised an eyebrow, giving her a silent, "Oh really?"

Autumn grinned apologetically, rubbing the back of her head, ruffling up her already messy hair. "Heh heh. I forgot?"

"You made me spend the night in the Hufflepuff common room, get stared at in the Great Hall, fall off a broom, and run all over Hogsmeade looking for you, because you forgot a spell that you apparently use often?" Bailey asked, not angrily, but more in a you-really-expect-me-to-believe-that tone of voice, counting the incidents off on her fingers.

Autumn blushed, embarrassed. "Well, it worked right? You and Justin are together now!"

I took a step toward her. "You mean, all this was just to get me with Bailey?" I dropped my voice, speaking only to Autumn. "Not that I don't appreciate it.

She nodded, smiling. "What can I say? I saw the way you were looking at her last night. And I just love playing matchmaker. Remember? I did it last year too," she finished, pointing out the window. We could all clearly see Tessa and Cedric walking into a place called Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop.

Suddenly, Bailey just burst into laughter. Her face got a little red. Between bouts of laughs, she managed to get out, "This…is the most…ridiculous thing you've ever done. I can't believe…this is actually…happening to me."

Autumn just grinned back. When Bailey was done, she pulled out her wand. "I guess I should fix you two up then." She pointed at our hands and muttered, "Magnes Neutra."

To test it out, I reached over and took Bailey's hand in mine. No forcefield repelling them, no feeling forcing them to stay together. Just, together, And it felt right, natural. I smiled at Bailey. She smiled back. I guess Autumn seemed to sense something because when I looked back, she was gone, taking Neville with her.

Later that night, I sat in front of the fire in my common room, mulling the situation over.

It was brilliant, really. Find an excuse for us to be alone, without the option of leaving each other. Then, after a spark of romance had been ignited, release us, but not quite. Have us feel a little desperate, not being able to touch, force us to realize how much we truly liked each other. Then, finally, let us go.

Brilliant. Almost something a Ravenclaw would cook up. Almost, but not quite. It relied too much on emotional factors. Too many open possibilities for a Ravenclaw to find it logical enough to go through with it.

Last year's scheme had been the same. Locking her friend in a closet. Sending someone off to go find her. No, too illogical for a Ravenclaw. However, for another house…

Autumn often described herself as a Hufflepuff with Ravenclaw tendencies. A Huffleclaw, she'd say. Most of us ignored her though, as she never seemed to be the brightest, except for when it came to Herbology.

Though, it's hard to forget her Sorting. Hers had been a Hat Stall, something that doesn't occur often. Only when the hat is having a lot of trouble deciding which house. Usually stuck between two. I always suspected Gryffindor, but now…

Autumn walked into the common room then, carrying a mug of hot chocolate. She smiled at everybody and winked at me. She lifted the mug to her mouth, taking a sip.

She immediately dropped the cup, spluttering, and stuck her tongue out. Across the room, a seventh year had their wand out, stopping the cup from crashing onto the floor. The mug slowly landed on the ground, not spilling a drop. All without looking up from his book. Can you tell this is a normal occurrence?

Autumn still had her tongue out. "Cowy, I buwnt my pongue," she cried weakly, pinpricks of tears coming to her eyes.

Cory walked over to her, sighing. He used a simple healing spell, and her tongue was instantly better. "This needs to stop being a nightly thing, Autumn," he reprimanded gently. She nodded and hugged him gratefully. She leaned down and picked up her mug, thanking the seventh year. He did a small wave in acknowledgement.

Nah, there's no way she was almost in Ravenclaw…


End file.
